


Homecoming

by devilscut



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Age Issues, M/M, Mates, Pack, Pining, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-26
Updated: 2014-04-26
Packaged: 2018-01-20 20:46:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1525025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devilscut/pseuds/devilscut
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek is returning home from a trip to Ireland where he has represented the pack to attend the wedding of the O'Connor Pack's Alpha.  It's during this time away from Beacon Hills and his pack mates that Derek receives good advice from the O'Connor twins on his feelings for Stiles and understanding more about mates.  When he lands back in California, Derek receives a surprise when he walks through the arrivals gate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

> I had to pick someone up from the airport earlier this week and as I was waiting for them this came to mind. Everywhere I go these days I see potential Sterek situations - I am a sad case I know.
> 
> Written before Liam Dunbar appeared on the show.
> 
> Unbeta'ed.

[Going home - Mark Knopfler](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2vCScBgf6s)

 

Derek looks around the row of seats.  Just in case. 

 

He was pretty sure he’d gathered all his stuff together, but leaving something on board would be a pain in the ass to get back. 

 

He’d only done it once, on the flight that he and Laura had taken to New York after...when they’d decided to leave Beacon Hills.

 

Derek hated those words.  Before.  After.  He swore they defined his life and he hated it... _before_ the fire and _after_ the fire. 

 

He’d left behind his Mom’s copy of “Catcher in the rye” in the back pocket of the seat in front of him.  The one that she’d lent him so he didn’t have to borrow one from his AP English teacher.  Not that he’d been reading it on the plane, simply holding it when he realised he could still scent his Mom on the pages.

 

Derek had been gutted the following morning after crawling out of bed in the dingy motel near the airport, where they’d crashed hard after landing, and couldn’t find it.   Almost tearing his bag apart before howling in grief.  Laura had simply held him, letting him nuzzle and whimper and rage against her throat so he could scent the Alpha pheromones that she now possessed.  It was the first and only time that he cried for his lost family. 

 

Getting it back became his obsession.  Contacting the airline had surely been one of the tortures from the seventh circle of hell as he was kept on hold, then transferred to another department, kept on hold some more, spoke to an automated machine...hold...disconnected...hold...transferred...hold and so on and so on until his eyes were burning blue and his voice was so guttural that when he actually got a helpful human voice on the other end they thought he was talking another language. 

 

Three weeks later, settled in their own apartment, after many, many phone calls he finally got the precious book back much to his relief.  He couldn’t scent his Mom on it anymore, but he didn’t care it was something she’d held in her hands and that was good enough. 

 

So whenever he flies now he always checks. 

 

Just in case.

 

He waits until the impatient businessman one seat over from him, who had been standing from the moment they started taxiing to the gate, has pulled down his briefcase from the overhead compartment and started to push his way into the aisle using it as a battering ram.  Standing, Derek stretches out the kinks in his back before reaching up to grab hold of his backpack in the compartment.  Blushes hotly when the middle-aged woman in the row behind licks her lips and he realises his t-shirt has ridden up and exposed his belly to her feral gaze.  He quickly lowers his arms and turns away.

 

He always books the window seat because it helps his claustrophobia by having something to look out at, even if it is only clouds or ocean miles below or the reflection of his own face, the dark night not letting him see anything else.  If he isn’t travelling with another pack member Derek always purchases the seat next to his window one as well.  Being in such a confined space, the scents that assault him are too much let alone having a complete stranger sitting nearly on top of him, because most airline seats were still too small.  He couldn’t have borne it otherwise.   

 

The centre aisle is filled with people.  They barely move and he can hear the impatient huffs from people near the back of the plane as they wait.  Derek didn’t worry about rushing, there was no one waiting for him, he knew that.  He’d told the pack not to worry about meeting him at the airport and considering he’d driven there himself and parked the Camaro in long term parking there was really no point.  Derek didn’t want anyone to come and meet him out of any misguided sense of duty or obligation. 

 

He wanted them to want to be there.

 

Derek’s eyes travel over the other passengers that wait to shuffle down the length of the aisle.  He wants to be like one of them.  To know that when he walks into that airport terminal that his loved one is waiting there for him, waiting impatiently to see him again.  He wants to feel that clenching fist tighten around his heart when he first spots them in the crowd, to hear the nervous slightly hysterical laughter escape his lips as he rushes forward seeing them run to him before he sweeps them up into his arms so he can kiss and nuzzle that cluster of moles on his jaw...fuck. 

 

Yeah.  Never gonna happen.

 

He’d been keeping in touch with his pack by Skype and email and that had helped but it had been just over four weeks since he’d left California and he could feel an itch underneath his skin.  A need to scent and be scented, touch and be touched by his pack. 

 

The invitation when it had come was simply one he couldn’t refuse or ignore.  The O’Connor’s were an ancient pack already old when St Patrick had first preached Christianity in their homeland.  They were so strong and ferocious that many Irish Kings turned to the **_faoladh_** and hired them as mercenaries.  These ‘wolfmen’ gained a reputation as fierce warriors, guardians and protectors of children and the Hales were descended from them.  The current pack, no longer mercenaries for hire, was still powerful.  Large, with at least 30 to 40 pack members and very wealthy.  Formidable was the word he'd use to describe them.

 

Derek remembered when Stiles had presented his research on them after Derek had received the invitation, he’d spoken his piece and they’d all agreed that this would benefit the pack to forge alliances, even with European packs and that he should accept the invitation even though it meant being without one of their strongest wolves.  After the meeting Stiles had cornered Derek to one side.

 

**_“It explains a lot.”  His whiskey coloured eyes had captured his so intently that it had taken Derek a moment to realise that Stiles was talking to him._ **

****

**_“What does that mean?”  He huffs out, embarrassed at being caught staring, feeling heat scorch his cheeks._ **

****

**_Stiles rolls his eyes.  “I’ve just described them and explained that your family is descended from them...don’t you get it?  I could be talking about you sourwolf... noble, fierce, protective.”_ **

****

**_Derek had been sure that Stiles was mocking him after describing the faoladh in such glowing terms, but when he listens to the younger man’s heartbeat it is steady...no hitch...no stutter.  Stiles was telling the truth or what he believed to be the truth.  Something inside of him, round about the region of his chest went warm and achy and he’d had to suppress it ruthlessly because he knew that whatever the human boy felt for him - friendship, pack bonds - it wasn’t the same as his feelings for him._ **

****

**_“Don’t give me virtues I don’t possess.”  Derek growls out and inwardly winces at the way Stiles’ face falls._ **

 

The O’Connor’s had invited Derek to celebrate the nuptials of their Alpha which was a great honor for a Beta as normally invitations to outside of a pack were restricted to Alpha’s from other packs for political reasons - alliances, border negotiations etc..  The O’Connor’s had been friendly with the Hales and in particular Talia Hale before...and as her only living relative, his zombie Uncle Peter didn’t count, they had forwarded the invitation to him. 

 

Normally, he would’ve gone with at least one other to represent them, but the rest of his pack mates were currently in the midst of a very heavy exam schedule and he didn’t want to interfere with their studying time.  Even when Stiles had come to him at the end of one pack meeting just prior to his departure and volunteered to fly with him and go to the O’Connor’s territory for a couple of days...much as he wanted to say yes, the thought of Stiles as his travelling companion, being at his side, just the two of them...alone, had him struggling with temptation.  He’d so badly wanted to say yes.  What had come out of his mouth had been a snarled ‘no’ which had Stiles stumbling backwards and scurrying to the door before Derek could even think to apologise, before thinking better of doing anything at all.

 

So he’d gone on his own and strangely enough had enjoyed himself. 

 

There was a freedom of being away from the expectations of his pack and it felt good to have the weight off his shoulders, even if only for a short time.  Brianne O’Connor, the Alpha of the pack, had been very welcoming from the moment he climbed out of his hire car and stepped foot on the O’Connor Estate in County Kilkenny.

 

**_“Well...lookit you boyo...can’t say that there isn’t O’Connor blood somewhere in your family tree.”  The Alpha only a few years older than himself at a guess, claps him on the shoulder affectionately as she gestures towards some of her pack mates just behind her for comparison._ **

****

**_He can’t turn away though, Derek had only been able to look at her heart sore and unblinking.  She looks like Laura.  Face a bit thinner, nose more pointed and her eyes are dark navy blue rather than light green but when looked at as a whole she is so like his sister that Derek hadn’t been able to hide his distress._ **

****

**_Brianne’s smile falters and he knows she can scent his pain that he can’t mask.  Reaching out she wraps her arms around him and Derek stiffens when he hears a few growls of discontent from her pack mates.  Brianne growls and flashes Alpha red eyes at her pack and they soon quieten down.  Tucking his head into her neck she holds him._ **

****

**_“So...if you look like my brother then I’m thinking...maybe I look like someone you know-"  His breath hitches.  “Someone you knew then?”  Derek can only nod his head, feeling numb.  “We’ve heard of your family’s troubles Cousin Derek.  You are safe here...you are welcome.”_ **

****

The intended one week stay had drawn out to a month at their invitation and for the first time in a long time Derek had felt part of a pack that was so similar to the original Hale pack that it was almost a dream come true.  Brianne and her brother, Liam, were born wolves and the remainder of the pack a balance of human and the bitten. 

 

If there was a niggling sensation that something was missing he pushed it down so hard that there was no way it was going to rear up and make him examine that feeling.  Even receiving messages from his pack mates was a pleasant surprise when they said that they missed him.  He doesn’t know why, he just didn’t expect it. 

 

Didn’t expect Scott to send him a message and can’t even begin to explain the warmth that had washed over him that his Alpha had, one that didn’t demand his return or his help only to wish him a good time and be safe.  Erica’s was poles apart, even going so far as to threaten him with bodily harm if he didn’t get his ass back to Beacon Hills asap and left him smiling. It was only when he received an email from Stiles after his second week there that he felt a pull, a tugging sensation low in his gut to go home.

 

It had simply read – ‘Coming home soon?   S.’

 

His response had been equally brief – ‘Yes soon.  D.’

 

At the end of the third week he received a request to link into a Skype session.  His heart had clenched fiercely when he linked in and saw Stiles sitting in his bedroom in Beacon Hills.

 

**_“Hey Derek.”  Stiles smiling that wide-mouthed one that drew him in closer and closer to the screen._ **

****

**_“Stiles.”  He didn’t know what to say really.  The sight of the teenager filling him with a longing that wasn’t just homesickness, it was an incredible need to be there right now...to sit with Stiles in his bedroom and simply be with him.  To scent that delicious mix of vanilla and citrus that was unique to Stiles.  It felt like his tongue was weighed down._ **

****

**_“Uhhh so what’s Ireland like?  Seen any leprechauns...drunk any Guinness...kissed the Blarney Stone?”  The younger man asked, fidgeting restlessly on his study chair._ **

****

**_“Good.. yes...no and no.”  Derek can see on Stiles’ face that he’s starting to wonder why he’s even bothered trying to contact him and he feels bad for the teen, but he doesn’t want to encourage this...whatever this is...because Stiles deserves more.  He deserves better.  Stiles may think he feels things for him, but it’s infatuation, teen lust and if he succumbs to it...Derek knows the pain he’ll feel when it comes to it’s inevitable end is going to be like nothing he’s felt before in this lifetime and that’s saying something._ **

****

**_“What?   Wait. Are you saying you’ve seen a leprechaun?  Dude, what are they like?  Do they dress in little green suits and top hats?  Do they smoke a pipe?  Did you see its pot of gold?”  Stiles’ eyes go big and wide letting Derek see, even through the screen, the amber flecks suspended in the liquid dark honey.  Seeing and hearing him is a painful reminder of everything he can’t have and he’s half tempted to disconnect and blame the distance or the wi-fi at the estate...anything so he doesn’t have to look at that face with its wide, red mouth and smooth pale skin marked with a scattering of chocolate coloured moles.  But, he doesn’t because the other half wants to simply sit here and stare at the teen and hear his voice.  Hear him say his name like he does in his dreams._ **

****

**_“Come on sourwolf, you’re on holiday.  Use your words and tell me all about the O’Connor’s.”  It’s at that point that Liam O’Connor, the Alpha’s twin brother, walks past.  Seeing as Derek is Skyping at the long wooden table in the big farmhouse kitchen, he’d wanted to avoid the intimacy of his bedroom, he has no one but himself to blame when the annoyingly confident, overly verbal and cursedly charming Liam drapes his arm over Derek’s shoulders and leans in to look at the teenager on the far side of the world._ **

****

**_“Well, hello...who are you?”  Liam’s brogue is strong and Stiles’ face looks puzzled as he tries to decipher what he’s just heard._ **

****

**_“Derek, why are there two of you?”  Stiles’ eyes flicker back and forth between them. “I didn’t know the Irish were that advanced in cloning technology.”_ **

****

**_“No, we’ve just got good genes and my American cousin here is fortunate to be related to the O’Connor bloodline.”  Liam smirks, his blue eyes light with good humor.  “And what’s your name good looking?”_ **

****

**_“Stiles.”  Says the teenager and then he fucking smiles at Liam with THAT smile.  The one that Derek’s always thought of his, the wide one that makes his tip tilted nose crinkle slightly and his eyes glow with a warmth that he can physically feel.  “Hmm...you may look similar, but you’re definitely different.”_ **

****

**_“Stiles, that’s an unusual nam...urk...”  Derek by this time has had enough and if his elbow happened to slip and find Liam’s gut then it was purely an accident.  He’d swear on it._ **

****

**_“Right.  I’ve got to go.  I’ll see you soon Stiles.”  Derek snaps out._ **

****

**_“Wait...wait.  When are you coming home?”  Stiles asks his face pulling into a frown._ **

****

**_“I’ve not decided yet Stiles, but soon.”_ **

****

**_“Derek...I miss-”_ **

****

**_“Goodbye.”  Derek disconnects before Stiles can say anything that will have him jumping on the next plane home to do something foolish.  Like declare himself, claim the younger man so that everyone knows he’s Derek’s._ **

****

**_He can feel Liam looking at him thoughtfully._ **

****

**_“He’s a pretty one.  Maybe I’ll come for a visit.  Would you introduce me?”  The lilting Irish tone that had seemed so soothing over the past couple of weeks suddenly sounds harsh and grating._ **

****

**_“He’s too young.”  At Liam’s quirking eyebrow, Derek adds.  “He’s only 17.”_ **

****

**_“17 hmm...maybe I should invite him here then, our age of consent is 17.”  Derek stands so quickly his chair tips over and rounds on him, snarling and roaring in the other man’s face before pushing him into the wall behind them.  His vision changes letting him see minute details if he focuses and he knows his eyes are aglow with his rage and he can barely hang onto his control because the need to gut Liam is riding him hard._ **

****

**_“Speak to him again and-”  There is understanding and a knowing sympathy in Liam’s face and Derek realises just how much he’s given away of himself and punches the wall next to the Irish wolf’s head.  Cursing softly when he sees a big chunk of plaster come away from the brickwork._ **

****

**_“Derek...if  I wasn’t so secure in my own skin I 'd be very annoyed with that little Skype session.”  Liam puts his hand on Derek’s shoulder and it’s in comfort. “That young man, he wasn’t looking at me with those pretty eyes full of longing.”_ **

****

**_Derek steps back.  He can feel his stomach lurching wildly.  Is Liam saying...did he mean??  No.  He shakes his head. He can’t let himself believe it, because...it’s impossible._ **

****

**_Liam has the last word as he pushes himself off the wall and walks out of the kitchen.  “I’m Irish and therefore, I may be a bit of a romantic at heart, but Derek I can see it even if you can’t...he loves you, maybe as much as you love him.”_ **

****

 

Derek had booked the next day for his flight home.  Brianne and her mate Logan had been back from their honeymoon the previous week and she was well and truly back into her Alpha duties when she’d asked to see him in her study a couple of nights before he was due to leave.

 

 

**_“Do you have to go?”  She asks bluntly, as they sit either side of her desk.  The bookcases against all the walls, stacked with books of all types, on all subjects.  It reminds him so fiercely of his Mom’s office that he has to force himself to look at Brianne and focus on what she is saying._ **

****

**_“Yes.”  He leans forward and lets his forearms rest on his thighs, hands hanging loosely between his knees.  “This time that I’ve spent here with your pack...it’s been...”  He didn’t quite know how to say it.  “It’s been good, really good.”_ **

****

**_He squirms slightly in his seat, if Stiles was here he’d be rolling his eyes at the plainly spoken words, but Brianne seems to appreciate it, simply nodding her head in acceptance._ **

****

**_“You have someone waiting for you.”  It isn’t a question._ **

****

**_Did he?  He really wasn’t sure what he thought was waiting for him back home.  The one constant though was the pack.  Every single one of them and now that he knew he was going home, he couldn’t wait to get going, to see them all again._ **

****

**_“I...possibly.”_ **

****

**_Brianne smiles fondly at him.  “Liam told me about this...Stiles is it?”  At his nod she continues.  “You know that Logan is younger than me...in fact I think he’s only about a year or two older than Stiles.  I didn’t hide how I felt about him and neither did he with me.  When you find your mate Derek its beyond anything you could imagine.  It completes you.”_ **

****

**_“Stiles isn’t...”  He couldn’t bring himself to finish that sentence and looked down at where his claws had popped out unbidden._ **

****

**_“Somehow I don’t think you can say that he’s not yours, can you?”  Brianne says, looking down at his hands._ **

****

**_Derek can only stare at her, the implications of what she’s saying running through his head.  Brianne gets up and moves around her desk and pulls one of his hands into hers in comfort._ **

****

**_“Don't be afraid.  All I’m saying is that he’s old enough to hear the truth.  If he doesn’t want what you’re offering after...that’s another thing, but if he does...”  She lets the words hang in the air between them._ **

****

**_“You’ll always have a place with us if you need it.”  She says and Derek nods acknowledging the great honour that his distant cousin has done him, offering him a place in her pack._ **

****

**_What the hell was he going to do?  Did he dare to tell Stiles the truth?_ **

****

****

Finally Derek has shuffled down the aisle with the last stragglers.  Nods at the smiling Flight Attendants at the door of the aircraft as they say goodbye.  The only luggage he has is his backpack so even though he’s one of the last off he’s one of the first at the queues for passport control and the other security checkpoints.  Waits patiently as the Officers open his bag and search through his belongings, grateful that they use gloves and aren’t scenting all his stuff as they manhandle it so that he needs to wash it when he gets home. 

 

The thought of getting back to Beacon Hills by that afternoon has him smiling and he quickens his step as he walks through the sliding doors of the Gate.  The noise from all the people milling around waiting behind the barriers that create a clear open space, is like a slap to the face and he can see people looking at him then turning away in disappointment when he’s obviously not the one they are waiting for. 

 

Walking towards the exit he stops when he sees to his right at the very end of the barrier a huge sign with MR D. HALE written across in big capital letters.  The sign is so big he can’t see who's holding it.  Can’t scent them because there’s simply too many scents in the airport for him to separate and he can’t hear anything but the constant murmuring of the crowd. 

 

Slowly the sign drops down and he can see short sable coloured strands spiked up and then he can see those eyes...those warm golden brown eyes looking at him with such emotion in them that he daren’t try to interpret what he thinks it means.  What he hopes it means.  The wide mouth, red and tempting, smiles at him tremulously and Derek struggles to swallow.  He can feel his heart thundering wildly in his chest and he takes a step forward and stops when Stiles holds up one finger as though to say wait one moment.

 

Stiles flips over the sign and there’s more writing on the back. 

 

I MISSED U EVERYDAY. 

DON’T LEAVE ME AGAIN. 

STILES. 

PS. I LOVE U. XXX 

 

Derek can’t believe what he’s reading and his eyes flash up and meet Stiles’ and he can see a fiery wave of red rising up the younger man's face, but Stiles doesn’t avert his eyes.  Keeps looking at him bravely, putting himself on the line and Derek growls low, but not low enough that Stiles doesn’t hear or a few people turn to look at him.  This is it, Derek decides, he’s not going to deny himself or his incredible, amazing mate anymore.

 

There’s that clenching fist around his heart, there’s that slightly hysterical laughter wanting to burst out of him and he’s moving forward desperate to get to that opening and he can see that moving parallel to him is Stiles, rushing to meet him.  When he’s through the gap in the barriers and Stiles has stopped in front of him he simply drops his pack to the floor and Stiles is running at him, throwing himself into his arms.  Their chests crash together and Derek moans aloud because it feels so good, the weight of the other man against him.   The heat of him, the scent.  It’s enough to have him feeling turned inside out.  His head spinning.

 

He buries his face into Stiles’ jaw and throat, nuzzling and kissing those moles that he’d always dreamt of doing. 

 

“Derek.”  Stiles says and his voice is broken.  The younger man pulls back to look him straight in the face, arms wrapped tight around his neck.  Derek clutches at him, holding him closer and closer.  “I missed you so much.”

 

“I missed you too baby.”  The endearment slips out of his mouth so naturally and so easy that he doesn’t register what he’s said until he sees Stiles’ cheeks blaze an even deeper red and his pupils blow out in reaction.  “I...is it alright if I call you that?” 

 

Stiles nods frantically, head moving so rapidly that Derek feels giddy.

 

“Stiles...I’m sorry.”  Derek drops his head closer and he’s looking into Stiles’ eyes, their mouths only inches apart and he can feel the younger man’s breath against his mouth and it’s warm and minty and sends a surge of aching want through him.

 

“What for?”  Stiles says almost breathlessly, before he stiffens and holds himself apart.  Derek’s having none of that and hauls him in as close, as tight as he possibly can.  “What are you doing?  If you don’t want me...if you don’t feel the same then please...please let me go now...I can’t-"

 

“I’m never letting you go again.”  Derek growls softly at him, feeling Stiles go limp.  “Stiles...I need you to know, I’m sorry for not talking to you before about this.”

 

“This?”  Stiles questions as he lets his head tip to one side and rest on Derek’s shoulder, pressing his face into Derek’s throat.  A low rumble of contentment vibrates through Derek and Stiles hums in response.

 

“How I feel about you, how much I...Stiles I love you.”  Vulnerability pierces through him, sharp and needy and he sucks in a shallow breath.  “How you’re my mate...how it’s forever for me.”

 

Stiles lifts his head from his shoulder and looks him in the eye. 

 

“Good.  Forever sounds kinda perfect to me.”  He says firmly.  “I’m going to kiss you now.”  Stiles warns as his face comes closer and closer, his eyelids flutter closed as his lips press against Derek’s.  They are still for one moment and then it blazes through Derek, a fierce hunger and need that Stiles obviously feels too the way he whimpers against his mouth and it’s a kiss that burns through to the very core of him, leaving him shaken and half hard in his jeans, not caring that they are surrounded by a sea of people.

 

Forehead to forehead they lean into each other, bodies tight against each other and Stiles smiles, THAT smile, the one that is Derek’s and he knows that everything is going to be alright.

 

“You missed me, huh?”  Stiles asks.

 

“Yes.”  Derek hisses out on a sigh.  “Make the most of this, it’s never happening again.”  Stiles’ expression is kind of sad at that comment and Derek can almost guess what he’s thinking before he adds.  “Because I’m never leaving you again.”

 

“Oh.”  Stiles’ eyes go big and round.  A little pleased smile plays around the corners of his mouth. “The pack wanted to come and meet you, but I made them stay at home, didn't want any witnesses if I struck out, so tell me now if you’re not in the mood for a party 'cause I promised I’d text them if you were too tired.”

 

“No, no I want to see them.  I missed you all so much.”

 

Warmth floods through him and Derek feels closer to the rest of the pack than he ever has.  He’s surprised though when Stiles pulls out his phone and texts a message, presumably to the pack.  He can feel the puzzled frown on his face and Stiles sees it.

 

He leans in to whisper into Derek’s ear, his lips brushing over the sensitive rim making him shudder.  “I just sent them a message saying there was a slight delay...enough time for me to give you a blow job in your car before we hit the road.”

 

Derek can feel his abdomen contract so fast and hard it's painful, as his cock instantly swells and he picks up his bag with one hand and has Stiles’ elbow in the other and starts moving them through the airport at a pace that has Stiles panting next to him.

 

“Welcome home Derek.”  Stiles breathes out, laughing at his urgency.

 

Derek smiles back at his mate. 

 

This is home, wherever Stiles is.

 

Home, at last.

 

 


End file.
